If there is a city that never sleeps in this world, it is undoubtedly the Holy City.

The light-blessed city, even in the middle of the night, has an intoxicating shimmer of light, a mixture of milky white and a faint golden yellow that provides ample visibility for the civilians who toiled through the night without disturbing the sleep of the noble adults.

The reason for this is that the exterior walls of the buildings in each sacred city are painted with a paint made of jade powder, which is scarce, but it can store sunlight during the day and slowly release the stored sunlight at night, which is the Entagre version of the solar panels.

Coupled with the glow emitted by the Holy Mountain that has applied the Great Blessing of Eternal Light, the interaction of the two factors has formed the holy and noble appearance of the Holy City, and the Holy See of Light is happy to use this means to attract believers, and those believers who believe in the Light have never doubted that this is called the blessing of the eternal light, in their opinion, this is not the gift of light, so what else will it be?

Even on the night of the Demon Moon, the scarlet moonlight could not erase the light of rebellion that made her so angry, and perhaps this was the only place on the entire continent that could not be affected by the Demon Moon in the slightest.

Inside the cathedral at the top of the Holy Mountain, along the long corridor, the deepest part is the Pope's Audience Hall.

At this time, in the spacious and bright Audience Hall, Pope Grimophis XI of the Holy See of Light was sitting upright, flanked by three men and one woman, all wearing gold-trimmed cardinal robes, holding the Sun Scepter, which represented the authority of the cardinal.

I don't know what happened, the four cardinals of the Holy See of Light actually gathered together, you know, even at the triennial inauguration ceremony, it was only two cardinals present.

In the meeting hall, Raphael was still wearing the robe with a pair of angelic wings stretched, respectfully reporting his experience in Raven Ridge.

After stating everything that had happened in Raven Ridge in a calm tone, Raphael picked up a box beside him and handed it to the bishop standing beside him: "Your Majesty, this is the head of the apostate Garrakis, just as I have told before, the fallen knight Morgan Radimore used the holy fire hidden in his soul to severely damage this shameful betrayer, so the holy fire was also transferred from Morgan's soul to the soul fire of Garrakis. ”

The bishop, who was the attendant, carefully handed the box containing the head of Garrakis to Cardinal Simit Ferron, the first to the Pope's left, and the tall cardinal also presided over the Inquisition of the Holy See of Light, and was one of the most knowledgeable about the undead among all those present.

Simit opened the box, examined it carefully for a while, then turned his head to salute the Pope who was sitting upright: "Your Majesty, it is indeed a holy fire, and because it has not been separated from the previous body for a long time, it can be easily separated. ”

Hearing Simit's words, everyone, including the Pope, had an excited and relieved smile on their faces, and Cardinal Meradel, who was first on the right hand, looked at Raphael with eager eyes, as if he was looking at his favorite child.

"Great, since the loss of the Holy Flame in the Sixth Faction War, I didn't expect that after more than 7,000 years of searching, the Holy Flame of Light has finally returned to the hands of the Holy See! Your Majesty, once this good news is announced to all believers, even the grandest of celebrations cannot express a ten-thousandth of joy! The light has not forsaken us! "Cardinal Sedna Kalifa, the only female cardinal, was so excited that she almost danced with joy.

Seeing the smile on the Pope's face getting brighter and brighter, Meradel stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I think that not only should the entire camp be informed of this good news, but the Holy See should also hold a major celebration for this purpose, in order to reassert the official status of the Holy See as the Spokesman of Light, and in addition, Pastor Raphael, who risked his life to successfully bring back the Holy Flame for the Holy See, should also be publicly and justly commended!" ”

"I agree with Cardinal Meradele's proposal that the celebration be solemn and that all the leaders of the Order camp be invited, since the end of the Second Camp War, the legitimacy of the Holy See as the spokesman of the Light has been constantly questioned, and now is the best opportunity to fight back, with the Holy Flame, it is enough to silence all careerists! As for the Reverend Raphael, I think he should be rewarded enough, and I recommend that he be promoted to Auxiliary Bishop and that his status as a Holy Lady of Light be officially confirmed. Sedna Kalifa also spoke out in support of Meradel, after all, Raphael had also studied under her for a while, and the two barely had a teacher-student relationship, of course, not as close as Meradel.

"A 16-year-old coadjutor? Wouldn't it be too young? "It was the last Cardinal Gamel Franklin who spoke out, this skinny cardinal is in charge of the finances of the entire Holy See, although he has a lot of power, but he has always been known for being conservative, and it is not surprising that he opposes Raphael being promoted to coadjutor bishopric, "What's more, Pastor Raphael has joined the Holy See of Light for less than two years, and has been promoted from a priest's apprentice to a full priest at a very fast speed. ”

Meladel glared at Gamel: "Could it be that the merit of welcoming the Holy Fire for the Holy See is also difficult to convince the public?" When did the Holy See of Light have to rely on seniority and age to judge seniority? Shouldn't we be distinguished by piety to the light? Pastor Raphael's deeds and devotion to the light since joining the Holy See, I am sure that any upright believer will agree with me! ”

Seeing that the two cardinals were about to quarrel in this solemn hearing hall, Raphael, as a party concerned, spoke.

"Your Majesty, and several cardinals, please forgive me for not being able to accept such a huge reward, this operation, due to my mistakes, not only caused Archpriest Marina to be seriously injured, the breath of the two legendary staff Siris and the staff of the Philosopher were completely destroyed, but also caused the royal light guard Lord Garimos to be besieged and died in battle, these losses are caused by me anyway, even if I am heavily responsible for this by the Holy See's precepts, I am willing, where can I afford the word reward!"

Hearing Raphael say this, not only did Sedna have a loving smile on her face, but even Simit, who had been keeping a straight face, couldn't help but pull a slight arc at the corner of her mouth, obviously very satisfied with Raphael.

Germephis XI, who was sitting on the papal throne, raised his hand to stop Meradel who wanted to speak again, and slowly stood up, with a smile on his face: "Don't blame yourself, Pastor Raphael, you did a good job!" Rather, it is not your fault that you are not at fault for being able to return the flame at such a small price, and I agree with Meradel that you deserve to be rewarded, and I thank you for your bravery, the Holy See for your selfless dedication, and the Light for your devotion to faith! Although Garimos was unfortunately killed in battle, I am confident that he will enter heaven with the blessings of light and continue to serve the will of light! ”

"Your wisdom is like a vast and boundless sea of mist! Your Majesty! Melader smiled and stroked her breast.

"Your commendation will be decided after discussion by the four cardinals, my child, you can see that you are tired, presumably the power of death on the land of the dead makes you very uncomfortable, Sedna, please arrange for someone to take good care of our little angel, as the greatest contributor to the return of the Holy Fire to the Holy See, Pastor Raphael will be an important role in the celebration of light." The Pope said with a smile, nodding at Sedna.

"Rest assured, I have appointed Pastor Heath to take over the duties of Archpastor Marina, teaching Pastor Raphael and taking care of our little angels!" Sedna smiled at Raphael, "Heath has complained to me many times about being snatched away by Marina, and I think she can finally get what she wants now." ”

"Very good, then Michaela, take our future star to rest, it's late, be careful not to get too tired!" Germephais XI waved his hand at the standing assistant and motioned for her to take Raphael to rest.

When only the Pope and the four cardinals were left in the hall, the atmosphere suddenly became serious, and the expression that was originally full of smiles became cold.

"Okay, now there are no outsiders, let's talk about it, although the return of the flame is indeed a happy event worthy of great celebration, but it is stuck at this time, and I have to feel a headache!" Pope Germephis XI sat back on the papal throne with an ungraceful ass, his forehead on his hands, and his tone was full of helplessness.

Sedna and Meladel were no longer as excited as they had been before, apparently having composed themselves from the surprise of the flame's return.

"In any case, this is a good opportunity to proclaim the legitimacy of the Holy See! Your Majesty, we cannot choose to run away from the trouble caused by the Holy Fire, which is a blasphemy against the Light and a betrayal of the countless believers who have given their lives to find the Holy Fire for more than 7,000 years! It was not Meladel and Sedna, who had just looked happy, but Gamel, who had always been the most conservative.

"But, Franklin, as you said, the return of the Holy Flame is indeed a great thing for the Holy See, but the problem is the Holy Flame itself, why the Holy Flame was lost seven thousand years ago, and the reason for this is not unclear to you!" Simit said in a deep voice.

"Of course, I know that a single flame is useless, at most it is a purified flame of divine fire, but it is the key to unlocking the Sky City, the energy center of the Sky City known as the Throne of the Gods, as long as the Holy Fire is re-injected into the core of the Sky City, we will be able to control this miracle and gain absolute power, which is enough to bathe the whole world in light! Isn't that what we've been looking forward to? ”

"But seven thousand years ago, it was because they were afraid that the Sky City would be controlled by us, that they did that kind of thing, causing the Holy Flame to be lost, and since then, humanity has never stood at the top of this world as it did at the beginning. This time, do you want to turn the entire human race into the enemy of all races? Meladel asked loudly.

Sedna also spoke out in support: "Meradel is right, seven thousand years is really a long time for us humans, but for elves, demons and undead, it is not enough to lose these forbidden knowledge, once the news of the return of the Holy Fire is widely known, all the races that know the existence of Sky City will look at us with suspicion, when the time comes, will we repeat the tragedy of seven thousand years ago?" ”

"So, is it just a secret? Or pretend not to remember anything, and enshrine the key that is enough to envelop the entire continent like a mascot? Ladies and gentlemen, the sages are weeping, the martyrs are crying, and the statues in Valhalla will be so angry that they will tear down the holy mountain! Gamel said, waving his arms as if fighting an invisible enemy, "Since the loss of the Holy Fire, every successor Pope has sworn in front of the tombstones of the Popes of the Past that he will welcome back the Holy Flame, take control of the Sky City, and bring humanity back to the top of the continent as his goal of never forgetting, do you want to betray your oath, Your Crown?" ”

Gamel was almost screaming with all the energy of his body, the thin cardinal was eager to use his life to contribute to the great cause of the Holy See, to humanity, to the light.

The Pope was silent, Simit was silent, Meladele and Sedna were silent, because this is indeed an unanswerable question, and their hearts are actually the same as Gamel's, wanting to realize that seemingly unattainable dream, wanting to bring the entire human race back to the top, and wanting future generations to talk about them will call them "Sages of Light"! This title was given nearly 10,000 years ago by the seventh Pope Setrick IV, who was honored with this supreme title for his great exploit in leading the orderly camp to win the first camp war.

Seeing that the others began to waver, Gamel began to strengthen his confidence for them: "I didn't decide casually, since the resurrection of the Lord of the Yellow Sand more than a month ago, most of the power of the elves, dwarves and demons have been involved, and they are still fighting each other in the desert, trying to seal that terrible and evil empire again, plus the elves also have to deal with the problem of the Whispering Forest, the demons were also severely injured in the last faction war, even if we march into the sky city now, they can't draw enough strength to stop us." ”

Meladel nodded, but Simit was not completely persuaded by Gamel: "What about the undead? What the undead are doing? Those skeletons aren't good kids, do you think they're going to just sit at home and watch us take the city in the palm of our hands, little by little? ”

"I also have a very good way to deal with this!" Gamel laughed and said, "It's thanks to Pastor Raphael. Now that the Holy See has welcomed back the Holy Fire, it is understandable that in order to hold a grand celebration ceremony, it is understandable to temporarily send those elite troops into the Holy City! ”

"You mean?" Gamel's words made the eyes of everyone present light up, to put it bluntly, including Pope Germephis XI, there is only one thing that they are worried about, that is, when the Holy See attacks the Sky City, there are other forces that obstruct it. If you can take advantage of the opportunity of the celebration to have a Ming Xiu plank road to secretly Chen Cang, and quickly bring the Sky City under control before everyone has time to react, then everything will be settled.

As the only city of miracles in this world built by the gods themselves, Sky City is not only an air fortress that can never be captured, but also an ultimate weapon with great lethality, and whoever controls the city will have an absolute advantage.

"In a grand celebration open to all civilians, in which the number of civilians pouring into the Holy City is almost impossible to count, it is not a matter of course to increase the number of guards of the Holy See! Of course, in the course of the celebration, the temporary disappearance of thousands, or even tens of thousands, of people will not attract anyone's notice. ”

"You're right, but what about the things that are entrenched in the Sky City? Seven thousand years ago, it was because of those things that we had to devote a lot of combat power to fight it, which caused the flame to be stolen and lost by those who betrayed. Now, even if we can send our forces into Sky City under the cover of the celebration, as you said, those ordinary soldiers alone can't fight those things! Not even heroic enough to deal with those terrible monsters! And once you want to use the legendary combat power, it will inevitably attract the attention of other forces. ”

"I don't think there's a need to worry about that!" Simit said, "Based on Pastor Raphael's description just now, I think that the combat power of Pastor Raphael alone cannot compete with those void creatures, but they are very good at cooperating, which is something that ordinary soldiers under our command cannot do. ”

"You mean, give the mission of the expedition to Sky City to those civilians? But can they do it? Moreover, even if they can do it, then how can they ensure that the Sky City is under the control of the Holy See, you must know that whoever controls the Holy Fire is the master of the Sky City, this is irrevocable! Sedna asked.

"Assign those ordinary soldiers to those civilians, it can increase their chances of success! As for your concerns, Sedna, have you forgotten our little angel? "Gamel is not conservative at this moment, but he is more radical than the most radical of Meladel.

"I thought you'd stick to the bloodline, Gamel, when did your mind open up?" Meladel made a small sarcastic.

"I haven't changed, Meradel, and so far I don't think that too much status and honor should be given to those civilians, who in my opinion are not to be trusted, even by your protégé! But if we have to rely on them to realize our dreams, then I will not let the so-called bloodline tie their hands and feet, everything I do, for the sake of the Holy See, for the sake of humanity, for the sake of light! ”

Pope Germephis XI nodded: "You have convinced me, Gamel, just do what you want, you are right, this is a regret that spans seven thousand years, since we have regained this key, do not be afraid, everything is for the great light!" Simit, the communication with the various kingdoms, and the recruitment of soldiers will be handed over to you, since you want to do it, you have to do it beautifully, and take out everything we can get our hands on! Sedna, do everything you can to raise Pastor Raphael's strength as soon as possible, she is not strong enough, I am afraid that she will not be able to take on this heavy responsibility! Meradel, ensure the normal operation of the Holy See, don't let those bones see the flaws, at least delay their intervention as much as possible! From now on, Gamel, do your best to spread the news of the return of the Holy Flame, and prepare for the greatest and most solemn celebration possible, so that everyone will think that we are still immersed in joy, and the time for the expedition to the city in the sky will be the night after the celebration begins! ”

At this moment, Pope Germephis XI showed his courage as pope.

"I promised our little angel that she would be rewarded and that she would be the star of the celebration. I think it's fitting that she should be promoted to bishop! When she returns triumphantly from the Sky City, it will also be the climax of the whole celebration, she will stand in front of thousands of people as the greatest hero, and I will personally put on the crown of the Holy Maiden for her! Pope Germephis XI stood up, raised his hands and said loudly.

The four cardinals raised their scepters in a frenzy: "The light is with me!" The will of light will triumph! ”